April 7, 2011

Lorin Maazel's Castleton Festival seems to get classier every year. It's also spreading more often beyond the enveloping beauty of the conductor's estate in Rappahannock County, Virginia.

One of those stretches will find Maazel leading the Castelton Festival Orchestra -- made up of top-notch young professionals -- in "Music Inspired by Shakespeare" on June 30 at Strathmore.

In addition to "Romeo and Juliet"-inspired music by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev and Mendelssohn’s Incidental Music to "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," there will be ...

readings of Shakespeare by two of the most admired actors of our day: Dame Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons.

Tickets are $25-$150 and will be available through Strathmore's Web site or by phone, 301-581-5100. Proceeds support the Lorin and Dietlinde Maazel’s Châteauville Foundation, which supports the festival and provides fellowships for participants from this country and abroad.

The Virginia portion of the festival, which runs June 25-July 24, includes productions of operas by Puccini, Ravel and Weill, among others, and several concerts.

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About Tim Smith

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., I couldn't help but develop a keen interest in politics, but music, theater and visual art also proved great attractions. Music became my main focus after high school. I thought about being a cocktail pianist, but I hated taking requests, so I studied music history instead, earning a B.A. in that field from Eisenhower College (Seneca Falls, N.Y.) and an M.A. from Occidental College (Los Angeles). I then landed in journalism. After freelancing for the Washington Post and others, I was classical music critic for the Sun-Sentinel in South Florida, where I also contributed to NPR. I've written for the New York Times, BBC Music Magazine and other publications, and I'm a longtime contributor to Opera News. My book, The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Classical Music (Perigee, 2002), can be found on the most discerning remainder racks.

I joined the Baltimore Sun as classical music critic in 2000 and, in 2009, also became theater critic, giving me the opportunity to annoy a whole new audience. In 2010, my original Clef Notes blog expanded to encompass a theatrical component -- how could I resist calling it Drama Queens? I hope you'll find both sides of this blog coin worth exploring and reacting to; your own comments are always welcome and valued (well, most of them, at least).

Think of this as your open-all-hours, cyber green room, where there's always a performer or performance to discuss, some news to digest, or maybe just a little good gossip to share.
Note: Tim Smith now writes about the fine arts at baltimoresun.com/artsmash. This blog will be kept in place as an archive for an indefinite period. Please visit the new location to get the latest Mid-Atlantic arts coverage. View the Artsmash blog